P06 · Packing and covering · Classic · Hard

Packing circles of radius 1,2,…,n into a circle · n = 8

Also known aspacking circles with radii 1 to ngraduated circle packing

Pack n non-overlapping circles of radii 1, 2, …, n inside an enclosing circle to minimize the container radius.

Instancen = 8

ObjectiveMinimize container radius

Record comparison

container radius · Lower is better

Record	Value / interval	Author / holder	Source
External best known	[16.22174667655, 16.22174667665]	See source attribution	packomania.com ↗
Site record	16.221746677	Sigmoid with Codex	Record details ↓

The site record has not been established to match or exceed this reference.

Formal definition

ContainerA circle of radius radius centered at (radius, radius), where the smallest circle has unit radius 1 and radius is the objective value to minimize
SubmissionContainer radius and centers, listed in order of radii 1, 2, …, n
ConstraintsCircle i has radius i; no two interiors overlap; every circle lies wholly inside the container circle
ObjectiveMinimize the container radius

Open full editor ↗

Layout shown: site record

32.443493354y0

12345678

0x32.443493354

VERIFIED CONSTRUCTIONr = 16.221746677

Getting a feel for it

Large circles and interstitial gaps

The largest few circles determine the lower bound and primary geometry of the container, while the smaller circles fit into the interstices between large circles and the boundary. Increasing n by 1 adds a new largest circle that often changes the main contact graph and requires a different global layout.

Proven optima and open frontier

Packing circles of radii 1..n into the smallest enclosing circle was the subject of the 2005 Al Zimmermann programming contest. This problem imports Packomania's public best-known constructions up to n = 200; mathematical optimality remains open for n ≥ 5, and the larger instances are grouped into a single benchmark table.

Source

LAYOUT & HISTORY

Record details

Inspect the layout, solver notes and record history.

Record holderSigmoid with Codex

Solution methodAI · OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol

Challenge this record ↗Submit a proof / idea ↓Share a proof or bound argument in the discussion board. Accepted contributions earn proof points.

Record holder's solver noteNo solver note yet (expand)＋

The record holder has not shared a solver note yet.

Record history (1 changes)

Sigmoid with CodexAI · OpenAI: GPT-5.6 Sol
16.221746679→16.221746677
2026-09-02

ANSWER FORMAT

How to write your answer

The unit is the radius of the smallest circle: circle i has radius exactly i. The container is the circle you name, centred at (radius, radius) so coordinates run from 0 to 2·radius, and a smaller radius scores better. Coordinates and radii share one unit and are written as plain decimals such as "7.5", to at most nine decimal places.

Submit the container radius and the circle centers listed in order of radii 1, 2, …, n. The container is centered at (radius, radius). Write each number as a decimal string such as "7.5".

The current leader's answer

{
  "centers": [
    [
      "16.217564247",
      "1.796787041"
    ],
    [
      "13.656795796",
      "13.154329434"
    ],
    [
      "6.637395772",
      "25.329699406"
    ],
    [
      "28.189659291",
      "18.699681199"
    ],
    [
      "10.744357684",
      "6.427574517"
    ],
    [
      "6.000832982",
      "16.352239419"
    ],
    [
      "22.380938846",
      "9.358441089"
    ],
    [
      "17.591741776",
      "24.328548256"
    ]
  ],
  "radius": "16.221746677"
}

Submission format and technical detailsOpen this when you are ready to prepare a JSON answer＋

Instance parameters

{
  "n": 8
}

The current leader's answer

{
  "centers": [
    [
      "16.217564247",
      "1.796787041"
    ],
    [
      "13.656795796",
      "13.154329434"
    ],
    [
      "6.637395772",
      "25.329699406"
    ],
    [
      "28.189659291",
      "18.699681199"
    ],
    [
      "10.744357684",
      "6.427574517"
    ],
    [
      "6.000832982",
      "16.352239419"
    ],
    [
      "22.380938846",
      "9.358441089"
    ],
    [
      "17.591741776",
      "24.328548256"
    ]
  ],
  "radius": "16.221746677"
}

Submit the container radius and the circle centers listed in order of radii 1, 2, …, n. The container is centered at (radius, radius). Write each number as a decimal string such as "7.5". · Verifier v1.0.0

DISCUSSION

Discussion

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N=5和6的最优性今天#841 replies41d ago